The theatre scheduling board is clean (a rare sight at the BMC) and an indication that my time here has come to an end. I will leave in the morning for Accra and then tomorrow night will fly out to the US.  I am always thankful for the time I spend here at the BMC and sad when it comes to an end.  It is a time to reconnect with friends and make new ones.  It is a time to disconnect a bit from the busy routine I live in STL and remember what is truly important . . . family, friends, health, and my faith.  It is humbling and awe-inspiring to treat and care for the poorest of the poor in this World.  There are great challenges . . . clinically, ethically, and mentally, that stretch my abilities and I know make me a better surgeon, physician, and person.

Although the board is clean now, I know it will not stay that way for long.  After I leave tomorrow the struggles of the people in Northern Ghana will continue and I will be back home, praying daily for Dr. Emma and David (two Ghanaian MDs), Dr. Haun and Cahill (missionary MDs), and all of the scores of short term BMC volunteers, that God grants them wisdom and strength as they continue their work at the BMC.